A Turkish man accused of stabbing two women from Northern Ireland to death earlier this year will have a bone marrow test carried out to determine his age, a judge has ruled.
Questions were raised about the age of Recep Cetin, who is charged with the murders of Marion Graham (54) and Cathy Dinsmore (53) in the western Turkish city of Izmir in August.
The bodies of the pair, from Newry and Warrenpoint respectively, were found in woods on the outskirts of the city on August 18th.
Ms Dinsmore was stabbed up 35 times and Ms Graham was stabbed 17 times when they were killed. Ms Graham also had her throat cut.
Cetin, who was the boyfriend of Marion Graham's 15-year-old daughter Shannon at the time, claims he is 17, meaning he would be tried as a youth and face a more lenient sentence if subsequently found guilty of the murders.
However, lawyers for the families of the two women believe he is older and wish to see him tried as an adult.
At a three-hour-long preliminary court hearing in Izmir today, a Turkish judge ruled Cetin, who has been in a high-security detention centre since being accused of the crime, would have to submit to the test.
Several letters from northern politicians, including SDLP South Down MP Margaret Ritchie and Sinn Féin Newry and Armagh MLA Micky Brady, were delivered to the court urging the judge to order the test.